Hat hanger for vehicles



Sept. 20, 1955 R. M. KNOX ET AL HAT HANGER FOR VEHICLES Filed June 20,1952 Richard M. Knox Fred E. Miller INVENTORS United States PatentO HATHANGER FOR VEHICLES Richard M. Knox and Fred E. Miller, Enid, Okla; saidKnox assignor to said Miller Application June 20, 1952, Serial No.294,544

1 Claim. (Cl. 287-205) This invention relates in general to hat hangers,and more particularly to a hat hanger attachment for vehicles.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved hathanger attachment for vehicles, said hat hanger attachment being adaptedto firmly secure a hat in place and out of the way of the occupants ofthe vehicle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved hat hangerattachment for vehicles which is of a relatively simple construction andformed of readily attainable materials whereby the same is economicallyfeasible.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved hat hangerwhich is of a relatively simple construction and having fastening meansof a nature whereby the same may be quickly attached in place onconventional vehicles.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved fasteningconstruction for attaching hat hangers or the like to molding strips inthe interior of vehicles, said fastening means including hook-shapedclamping elements which are adapted to engage behind said molding stripfor clamping the same in between the two hookshaped elements.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certainnovel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elementsand portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in thespecification, particularly pointed out in the appended claim, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part ofthis specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the interior of the front portion of aconventional vehicle and shows mounted therein the hat hanger attachmentwhich is the subject of this invention, a hat being illustrated bydotted lines positioned within the hat hanger;

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the hat hanger of Figure 1 andshows the general outline thereof; and,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional viewtaken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 ofFigure 1 and shows the manner in which the hat hanger is attached to amolding strip about the windshield of the vehicle of Figure 1.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elementsand portions throughout the specification and throughout the dilferentviews of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that there isillustrated in Figure 2 the hat hanger attachment, which is the subjectof this invention, the hat hanger attachment being referred to ingeneral by the reference numeral 10. The hat hanger attachment includesa generally Y-shaped hat engageable member, which is referred to ingeneral by the reference numeral 12, the hat engageable member beingformed of a single strip of material. The Y-shaped hat engageable member12 includes a generally U-shaped hat receiving portion 14 having legs 16which are integral with rearwardly extending outer legs 18, the legs 16of the U-shaped portion 14 being conice nected to the outer legs 18 bycurved end portions 20. The outer legs 18 extend rearwardly and curveinwardly towardeach other adjacent the base of the U-shaped portion 14.Extending between the outer legs 18 and connecting the same together isa longitudinally curved con necting member 22, the connecting member 22havingend portions 24 thereof rolled around the outer legs.18. The outerlegs 18 extend rearwardly from'the connecting member 22 in spacedparallel relation and form the stem of the Y-shaped hat engageablemember 12.

Referring now to Figure 3 in particular, it will beseen that each of theouter legs 18 is provided at its free end with a terminal hook portion26, the terminal hook portion being flattened to have a pointed end 28which is engageable behind a substantially horizontal molding strip 30.Cooperating with the terminal hook 26 is an adjustable hook member,which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 32.

The adjustable hook member 32 includes a tubular portion 34 having ahook portion 36 extending from one end thereof, the hook portion 36having a pointed end 38 adapted to engage behind the molding strip 30 inthe same manner as does the pointed end 28 of the terminal hook 26. Inorder that the molding strip 30 may be clamped between the terminalhooks 26 and the hook portion 36, the tubular portion 34 of theadjustable hook member 32 is provided with a transversely extending bore40 therethrough in which is received an intermediate portion of one ofthe outer legs 18. The end of the tubular portion 34 opposite from thehook portion 36 is provided with internal threads 42 with which isengaged a locking screw 44. It will be seen that the adjustable hookmember 32 may beretained in an adjusted position on its associated outerleg 18 by tightening down the locking screw 44 to clamp the outer leg 18within the transverse bore 40.

The molding strip 30 is a portion of a conventional vehicle, which isreferred to in general by the reference numeral 46 and extends around anupper portion of a windshield 48. As is best illustrated in Figure 3,the windshield 48 is set in a recess 50 formed in the front portion of aroof 52 of the vehicle 46, the windshield 48 being provided with aresilient Weatherstrip element 54. The molding strip 30 is utilized forboth retaining the windshield 48 in position and also concealing a jointbetween an interlining 56 of the vehicle 46 and the inner end of the top52. The molding strip 30 is secured to the inner end of the top 52 by aplurality of conventional fasteners 58.

While the hat hanger attachment 10 has been illustrated and described asbeing secured to a molding strip 30 which is positioned adjacent the topedge of a windshield of a vehicle, it will be understood that the hathanger attachment 10 may be secured to other suitable molding stripswithin the interior of a vehicle. The hat hanger attachment 10 issecured in place by first engaging the terminal hooks 26 of the outerlegs 18 behind a molding strip, such as the molding strip 30, and thenmoving the adjustable hook members 32 into position. By holding theadjustable hook members 32 in position, the set screws 44 are tighteneddown in order to lock the adjustable hook members 32 in clampingrelation with respect to the terminal hooks 26 and the molding stripclamped therebetween.

Referring now to Figure l in particular, it will be seen that theU-shaped portion 14 is adapted to receive a crown 60 of a hat andunderlie a portion of a brim 62 thereof. It will be understood that thehat, which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 64 will beheld in an inverted position adjacent the inner lining 56 of the vehicle46. If desired, the U-shaped portion 14 may be twisted out of alignmentwith the other portions of the hat 64 closely adjacent the inner liner56.

The operation of this device will be understood from the foregoingdescriptionof the details thereof, taken in connection with the aboverecited objects and drawings. Further, description would appear to beunnecessary.

Minor modifications of the device, varying in minor details from theembodiment of the device illustrated and described here, may be resortedto without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, asdefined in the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as'new is:

An adjustable fastener for rod members having a stem portion terminatingin a reversely curved hook, said fastener comprising a tubular memberhaving an integral pointed. hook portion extending transversely thereofat one end towards the reversely curved book, a transverse boreintermediate its ends adjustably receiving the stem portion, saidtubular member being internally threaded at the other end thereof, alocking screw positioned within said tubular member at said other endcoaxial therewith and locking the rod member against movement Withinsaid bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS462,319 Loehner Nov. 3, 1891 567,169 Rohr Sept. 8, 1896 711,622 FergusonOct. 21, 1902 1,564,703 Nichols Dec. 8, 1925 1,824,710 De Carlo Sept.22, 1931 2,415,286 Hyde Feb. 4, 1947 2,464,672 Clapp Mar. 15, 19492,538,237 Efner Jan. 16, 1951 2,540,023 Ackerman Jan. 30, 1951 2,551,146Marincic May 1 1951 2,649,142 New Aug. 18, 1953

